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Colin Kaepernick to get meeting with new 49ers’ brass

By Brad Berreman

Oct 16, 2016; Orchard Park, NY, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick (7) during the game against the Buffalo Bills at New Era Field. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 16, 2016; Orchard Park, NY, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick (7) during the game against the Buffalo Bills at New Era Field. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports /
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Colin Kaepernick can opt-out of his contract with the San Francisco 49ers, but he may get a clean slate from the new guys in charge.

If not for recovering from shoulder surgery and other injuries, Colin Kaepernick probably would not have been with the San Francisco 49ers during the 2016 season. A contract restructuring has given him the right to opt-out of his contract this offseason, and it’s an option he has been expected to exercise when he can on March 2.

Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch were officially announced as the new 49ers’ head coach and general manager, respectively, on Thursday, with the expected questions from the gathered media about the team’s quarterback situation. Lynch surprisingly revealed Kaepernick has “reached out” already, and Shanahan acknowledged he would be studying tape on Kaepernick with an eye on a meeting to come with the quarterback.

Kaepernick started 11 games for the 49ers last season, and while his completion percentage remained below average (59.2 percent), he did throw 16 touchdown passes with just four interceptions in 331 pass attempts. Kaepernick also rushed for 468 yards, good for second in the league among quarterbacks (Tyrod Taylor-580), with two more scores on the ground.

Kaepernick’s lack of a future with the 49ers has seemed like a foregone conclusion for over a year now, but Lynch and Shanahan have not closed the door on keeping him. The New York Jets have been a rumored suitor for Kaepernick if he becomes available, and there would likely be a few other teams with interest. But if San Francisco’s new decision makers ultimately want to keep him around, it’s hard to think Kaepernick would find many better opportunities to start elsewhere next season.

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With the brief controversy he brought for kneeling during the national anthem, and the younger version of him on the field clearly not coming back, Lynch and Shanahan deserve credit for wanting to make their own evaluation of Kaepernick. A “mutual parting of ways” may still come, but a new regime may be enough for Kaepernick to put past grievances aside.